Bitcoin
and other cryptocurrencies were little changed Tuesday, mostly maintaining gains from a recent rally as analysts turned more bullish on
Ether,
seeing momentum behind the second-largest digital asset.
The price of Bitcoin has slipped less than 1% over the past 24 hours to $34,425. The biggest crypto has rallied by 30% in about two weeks, carrying it above $35,000 at one point to trade at the highest level since May 2022, when tokens slid into a brutal bear market. Bitcoin’s march higher also has ushered back its characteristic bumpy trading after months of historically low volumes and volatility.
“Bitcoin has maintained positive short-term momentum after confirming a breakout last week, and it still has room to … resistance near $35,900,” said Katie Stockton, managing partner at technical research firm Fairlead Strategies. “Support for Bitcoin is at the confluence of the 50- and 200-day moving averages, near $28,300.”
Bitcoin has ripped higher amid rising hopes that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will soon approve the first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), which would hold the crypto itself as opposed to futures tracking the token. Seen as a looming catalyst that should usher in a new wave of retail and institutional investor interest, ETF optimism has been a key force behind Bitcoin’s recent outperformance of the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
and
S&P 500.
Bitcoin’s rally has also buoyed the entire crypto space and reignited momentum behind
Ether,
the token underpinning the Ethereum blockchain network. While Ether was down 1% on Tuesday to $1,800, prices have advanced 17% since mid-October, topping $1,800 to trade at the highest levels since August, and the technical market backdrop is improving, according to analysts.
“Ether has sustained its relief rally, taking it above resistance … and 200-day moving average,” said Stockton, “If the breakout holds this week, we will turn our focus to resistance near $2,030. Short-term momentum is positive, and a new ‘pop’ higher … increases the likelihood of a breakout.”
Ether’s rebound from below $1,500 “has confirmed a long-term broad uptrend,” said Alex Kuptsikevich, an analyst at broker FxPro, with an upper bound near $2,400. “The bulls are likely targeting this upper bound,” he added.
Beyond Bitcoin and Ether, smaller tokens or altcoins were muted, with
Cardano
and
Polygon
each down less than 1%. Memecoins were in the red, with
Dogecoin
down 1% and
Shiba Inu
off 2%.
Write to Jack Denton at jack.denton@barrons.com
Read the full article here